A discussion of the DJ creative process and contemporary DJ culture.

The What’s My Sound DJ Challenge is meant for you to look closely at the elements of music that inspire you. Perhaps you feel too influenced by the market or are stuck and need some grounding. This is also a good exercise to help you identify your sound or style. The big eye opener for me was at one time I thought my sound was “dark” (or that’s what I thought I should be or was told that’s what I should be), and really I was just fooling myself, because what I came to realize was that I was more “light” and “romantic”. Give this a try – you may just learn something about yourself.

THE WHAT’S MY SOUND DJ CHALLENGE

Look at your track collection and pick 10 songs that you cannot live without. Don’t just pick songs you got recently, really dig into your “crate” and pick ten songs. Songs that if you were stranded on a desert island you could listen to for the rest of your life. Don’t evaluate them yet, just pick them out. Now, pretend those are the only tracks you have – forget about your collection. Listen to every track. Don’t think you just know them because they’re your favorites. Listen to them, really listen. Now evaluate them – but evaluate them in terms of what they signify about YOU. What are the elements of these tracks that are similar? What sounds are you hearing that may be consistent through all of them? Is there one theme or word that describes all ten? These are your passion tracks. If you have identified what makes these songs resonate with you, then you have identified your passion sound. Moving forward, when you listen to new tracks you will evaluate new tracks in relation to what your passion sounds are. This will help you continue to build a strong discography based on authenticity and individuality.